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Tower Automotive Builds New Plant in Bellevue, Ohio

20 January 1998

Tower Automotive Builds New Plant in Bellevue, Ohio

    DETROIT, Jan. 20 -- Tower Automotive has announced the
construction of a new 57,000 square-foot facility in Bellevue, Ohio.  The new
plant, scheduled for completion in May 1998 with the first production slated
to begin in December, will complement the existing Tower Automotive plant in
Bellevue, adjoining the new structure on a 12-acre parcel of land.
    The new plant will create sub-frame differential, axle and brake
assemblies for a new luxury car scheduled for release in the 1999 model year.
The front knuckle assemblies and the spring-and-shock modules will also be
made at the facility.  The finished parts will then be shipped to the
carmaker's automobile assembly plant in Michigan.
    According to the Bellevue business unit leader Bob Donegan, "The plant
will coordinate over two dozen suppliers from various parts of the country
using a sophisticated computer control system.  We have to build these modules
in a predetermined sequence so that the parts will arrive at our customer's
facility in the precise order they will be used on the assembly line.
    "Basically what we are doing is assembling and shipping a module of
various components that previously would have been shipped separately to our
customer's plant," Donegan explained.  "All the car manufacturers are moving
toward the concept of having major sections of the car assembled by their
first tier outside suppliers.  This method reduces their overall manufacturing
costs, plus it gives Tower Automotive new opportunities to become a bigger
part of the automotive manufacturing process."
    Tower Automotive, Inc. produces a broad range of stamped and welded
assemblies for vehicle body structures and suspensions systems for automotive
manufacturers, including Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Honda, Toyota,
Nissan, Mazda and Fiat.  Products include body structural assemblies such as
pillars and package trays, control arms, suspension components, engine cradles
and full frame assemblies.  The company maintains its operating headquarters
in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a corporate office in Minneapolis, Minn.

SOURCE  Tower Automotive , Inc.